Prior to trying the “Nicest” seat on the Breeze Airways A220-300, I wasn’t really sure how to classify it. Is it business class? Or is it premium economy?
After experiencing it on a 5 1/2 hour flight from Richmond (Virginia) to San Francisco, I can tell you with absolute certainty that it is not business class. The lack of proper food and in-flight entertainment options makes it a budget premium economy experience at best.
The seats absolutely lived up to their name however. They were by far the nicest on the whole airplane.
MX116
Richmond, VA (RIC) – San Francisco, CA (SFO)
Wednesday, August 24, 2022
Aircraft: A220-300
Registration: N206BZ
Duration: 5 hours 15 minutes
Seat: 5F (“Nicest” Seat)
The video
Ever since Breeze Airways announced that they were putting premium seats in their new Airbus A220 aircraft, I couldn’t wait to make a video about it. I had a lot of fun making my last Breeze Airways video, so even before going into this, I knew it was going to be a good time.
Normally I’d have a hard time condensing a 5 1/2 hour flight into a video of 12 minutes or less. However, the lack of onboard service made this relatively easy. Don’t give me wrong – it was a great flight, but a bit lacking in the amenities.
My full review of the Breeze Airways A220-300 “Nicest” seat
Breeze Airways is a low-cost carrier with a focus on smaller secondary cities (mostly). They launched their Richmond to San Francisco service earlier this year, and it is currently the longest route in the Breeze Airways network. I figured it would be the best opportunity for me to see what the Breeze Airways “Nicest” seat is all about.
Arrival at the Richmond International Airport
I arrived at the Richmond Airport at precisely 6:02 AM for the 8 AM flight to San Francisco. It’s a midsize Airport which is very easy to access, so I can tell you that arriving two hours before your flight is beyond overkill. I needed to get footage for this review though, so that’s my excuse.
FYI, Breeze Airways uses Terminal A at the Richmond Airport
Terminal A is the smaller of the two terminals at RIC, but still a decent place to hang out before a flight. There are plenty of food options, as well as lots of quiet nooks and crannies you can dip into to get away from the crowds.
The boarding process for flight number 116 to San Francisco
The plane operating our flight to San Francisco this morning came in from Tampa. This was just a short stopover, and it didn’t take them long to freshen it up and restock it for the relatively long haul out to the West Coast.
It’s not like I was timing it right down to the second, but if I had to guess, it felt like 22(ish) minutes from the time they parked at the gate to the start of the boarding process for San Francisco. Nice.
My first impressions of the Breeze Airways A220-300 “Nicest” seat
If you recall from my experience with the Breeze Airways E195 Extra Legroom seat, you already know that I’m a big fan of how this airline configures their interiors. The color palette consists of subtle light gray and white textures, which is a refreshing change of pace from all of the dark blues and grays so many other airlines use.
Complain about Breeze Airways all you want, but you absolutely cannot fault them for choosing ugly seat materials.
The departure out of Richmond
The really nice thing about flying out of small to medium-sized airports is how fast departure process usually is. There’s never any waiting in line, and it’s just a matter of pushing back from the gate and going. This morning was no exception, as it was pretty much a nonstop roll out to the departure runway.
In-flight entertainment
Flying with Breeze Airways at this time is still a somewhat featureless experience. They have been promising an in-flight entertainment option since the beginning, but they’ve been very slow to roll it out. This particular aircraft hadn’t yet been configured with an in-flight entertainment system, so they encouraged everyone to download content to the personal devices before pushing back from the gate.
Despite the lack of any onboard entertainment, I can say that I’m a really big fan of how accommodating they are when it comes to personal devices. There are tablet and phone holders the seat backs, as well as within the tray table itself. Very cool.
The food
In-flight meals on Breeze Airways are coming (so they say), but there’s still no indication of when that will happen. On this 5 1/2 hour flight from Richmond to San Francisco, all we got were drinks and a snack. Technically, they call it a “premium” snack. Everyone back in the regular economy seats had to pay for what we were served up front (for free) in the Nicest seats.
As you can see, they didn’t really skimp on the snack service. The proportions were huge! Much more substantial than what you would get on any other airline (even in business class).
How comfortable are the “Nicest” seats on long transcontinental flights?
If you’re familiar with proper premium economy seats on any other major airline, you’ll already know what to expect when it comes to the Breeze Airways “Nicest” seat. These seats are fairly wide, they offer tons of legroom, and there’s even a leg rest for additional comfort. Personally, I didn’t find the leg rest to be all that comfortable, but I suppose it could be for shorter people.
The best way to summarize the comfort of these seats is to tell you that they are a lot better than even the “Nicer” seats just a few rows back. They’re really not lying to us when they say that they are the nicest seats on the airplane.
The arrival into San Francisco
It was shaping up to be a beautiful morning in the San Francisco Bay area as we made the descent down over the Sierra Nevada mountains. San Francisco is usually cold and foggy this time of year, so it was nice to see the sun the entire way into runway 28R.
Pros and cons of the “Nicest” seats on the Breeze Airways A220-300
Despite the lack of food and in-flight entertainment, this was probably one of the best transcontinental flights I’ve ever had. The cabin crew was excellent, and the seat was really nice (exactly as advertised). I’d totally do it again. If that wasn’t enough to convince you, here’s a list of what I consider to be all the pros and cons:
Pros
- The seats are wide with gobs of legroom. If I had to compare it to any other domestic US first class product, I’d say that it was most like Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 first class.
- The adjustable leg rest is nice. Anyone under 6 feet tall probably won’t get much benefit from it, but it’s a nice feature nonetheless.
- The phone/tablet holders in the seat backs and tray tables are a godsend. I really wish more airlines would do this!
- The serving size of the premium snacks they provided were extremely generous.
Cons
- The lack of proper food is a disappointment. Especially on long 5 1/2 hour flights across the country.
- The lack of in-flight entertainment was a bummer as well. It behooves you to plan ahead and download content to your device before departure. I recommend Top Gun.
- If you’re in the window seat, and the person in the aisle seat is asleep with their leg rest up, you’ll be completely stuck. It’ll be nearly impossible to climb over them without waking them up (and creating an incredibly awkward situation).
Peter
Obviously, a very nice review! Honestly, for the price, the lack of food or IFE doesn’t bother me too much, and the legrest is a nice touch (no pun intended). And judging by all the tablet holders, it looks like Breeze is solidly in the “BYOD entertainment” camp.
While I suppose that the Nicest seats are worth it, I think I could do just fine in the regular Nice (or Nicer) seats, as they’re still decently wide, and they appear to have similar features as the Nicest seats, minus the legrest (and probably much less padding).,
Scott (SANspotter)
Thanks Peter! Yes, I’ve been tempted to try the “Nice” seats now just to see how they compare. It’s not easy to fly Breeze though, since they don’t fly anywhere I usually need to go. I really wish they served San Diego!
Peter
You’re welcome! Yeah, Breeze is definitely a hard airline to seek out. Hopefully they’ll serve San Diego soon, as it looks like a likely destination for them and their business model.
AvGeek
I LOVE that review! Well, what’s it like being on an a220 (I’ve never been in one)? Would you recommend the a220 for flights? Oh, and which Breeze Airways plane do you like better: the E190, E195, or the A220-300?
Scott (SANspotter)
Glad you enjoyed it! I definitely recommend the A220 – mostly because of the 2-3 seating configuration in economy, but also because it just looks so darn good (lol). The Breeze A220 is my favorite by far.
Flying on the A220 doesn’t feel all that much different than most other aircraft of that size IMHO. It feels a bit sportier than a 737 or A320 for sure, but comfort is about the same.
AvGeek
Speaking of comfort… what is the most uncomfortable plane you’ve been on, besides the “Terror of the Skies” (that’s what I call for fun the CRJ200)?
Scott (SANspotter)
Haha, yeah, the CRJ-200 is definitely numero uno. I think Air Canada Rouge A321 economy was the second worst. My knees still hurt from that one!
AvGeek
While we’re on the topic of worst planes, what has been the best plane you’ve ever been on (in terms of comfort)?
Scott (SANspotter)
Singapore Airlines A350-900 business class by far!
Al
Nice review. We are flying Breeze (first time) SNA to MCO next month. We originally had round trip but Breeze changed the return by 24 hours which was unacceptable so we opted for a different airline on the return. I’m always excited for a new startup airline. I’ve tried Frontier, Spirit and both did well. I was a fan of Jet blue, but they seemed to be giving up the fight by reducing their locations.
Scott (SANspotter)
Thanks Al! Bummer that they switched things around on you. That happens a lot with smaller startup airlines unfortunately, as they’re always tweaking their schedules (and route networks) to try and figure out what works and what doesn’t.
That said, I think you’ll like Breeze quite a bit. I’ve flown them twice already, and both flights have been fantastic. Hopefully they can survive long term!
John
Scott, great review.
I flew on my first A220 back in February, from BOS to PIT on Jetblue. Can’t stress enough how much more spacious and comfortable this was than an Embrear or CRJ, even in basic economy.
I will be flying an AA Embraer 145 from Philly to Quebec City soon. I’ve read your review, I hope my experience is better. I do have a seat in the single row.
Scott (SANspotter)
Hey John – I totally agree! It’s an absolute dream for regional flights, but I will admit that it starts feeling small on longer segments. Still, it’s an amazing aircraft that I always look forward to flying on.
You might actually like the E145! Especially if you’ve got one of those single seats. That alone makes all the difference in the world.
Dee
1 snack ? Could ask for more ? Buy more? Drink service? Multiple FREE c’tails if Ascent (Nicest) ?
Scott (SANspotter)
I guess it all depends on how charming you are. 🙂 It certainly doesn’t hurt to ask, and I would assume that most flight attendants would be accommodating with another free drink/snack if you ask nicely. That’s the way it works in first class on other US airlines, and I assume it would be the same on Breeze.
Hayley
Thanks for the review! I found this to be super helpful. I will be traveling with a service animal in the upcoming months and wondering if you would recommend the “nicest” or “nicer” (thinking the front row of this section) for the most room for a larger-sized animal. Any insight would be appreciated!
Scott (SANspotter)
Hi Hayley – glad you found this useful! The Nicest seats (row 1) would be the best in this situation. You’ll have a lot more room than what you would get in a Nicer seat, and the free drinks (and snacks!) will be the icing on the cake.
FlyGuy
Comprehensive review! Wondering if you happen to know whether the last row in Ascent (row 9) reclines? It’s back of the class and in front of an emergency exit. My first thought was that they probably spaced it far enough from the emergency exit to avoid issues, because it would be stupid for them to waste an Ascent row on one that does not recline. But their leaves-much-to-be-desired SMS customer service responded with “Each seat will recline except the row in front of the emergency exit.” Normally I’d believe CS but it just seems a little generic copy-pasted and maybe not specific to the A220.
I know you didn’t sit in row 1 either but any thoughts? Pictures suggest a lot of leg room. Of course you’d miss storage for your backpack in front of you and the tablet holder, but still have the tray coming from your side.
Scott (SANspotter)
Thanks! That’s a really good question. I can’t find any reference (anywhere) of those last-row seats having limited or no recline. That row appears to be missing a window though, so that would be enough to avoid it in my opinion.
Row 1 is definitely the jam though. Legroom is extremely generous, and window seat passengers have full access to the aisle without disturbing the person in the aisle seat. That said, you’ll need to be one of the first on the plane to be able to secure space in the overhead bin for your carry-on bag.
FlyGuy
Oh wow! I didn’t see anywhere that row 9 is missing a window. Even tried to catch glimpses of it in the video here and in your “nicer” seats review video. Well, that’s very useful information. Thank you.
Scott (SANspotter)
Making things even more complicated is the fact that the Breeze A220–300 I was just on (from LAX to MSY) had far fewer Nicest/Ascent seats than the aircraft I flew on from Richmond to San Francisco last year. They seem to be making changes.
It’s probably best to sit as far forward as you can to avoid any surprises!